Phenomenal Phoods

Peanut Butter and Blackberry Oat Crumble Bars

Ingredients:

For the base and crumble topping

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, at room temperature
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 cup gluten free oats
• 1/4 cup peanut butter

For the filling

• 3/4 cup fresh blackberries
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

For the pretzel topping

• 1/2 cup crushed gluten free pretzels
• 1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate (use 70% cacao or higher if you want it to melt in the oven)

Instructions:

For the base and crumble topping

1. Take an 8 x 8 baking dish, spray the bottom and sides with cooking spray and press a sheet of parchment paper into it. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine the brown sugar, almond flour and gluten free oats in a bowl until well mixed.Add the coconut oil, maple syrup and peanut butter and mix until you've got a mixture that's almost a sand-like, wet texture.
3. Press about 2/3 of the mixture into your prepared pan and set the remaining part aside.

For the filling and crumble topping

1. Sprinkle the blackberries, lemon zest and cornstarch on top of the base in the pan. Make sure they are evenly spread over the base.
2. Evenly crumble the remaining part of the oat base that you previously set aside overtop of the blackberries.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 20 minutes until just starting to brown.
4. Remove from the oven and add sprinkle chopped dark chocolate and crushed pretzels overtop. Return to the oven for another 10 minutes until the chocolate is melted, and the bars are nice and browned.
5. Cool completely before cutting into squares and serving.